Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:33 pmPosts: 1605Images: 13Location: On this 3 dimensional shape we call "The place we happen to exist I guess?"

Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

Welcome to Case: Housepets!, a community driven choose your own adventure mystery game where you and your fellow forum users will determine how the story goes!

This game is heavily inspired by (and partially parodies) other adventure games such as Heavy Rain, The Telltale games, and the comic "Prequel". The players (that's you guys) will take control of one of 5 characters throughout the game and make decisions that effect and direction of the path of the story you go down, and ultimately shape who these characters are and what their motive is. While some choices may seem small or incredibly drastic, all choices and actions can and will effect the outcome of a scene, and may even cost you a character.

Here are the Character Files; Your list of characters and their stats:

Name: CharliePlayer Status: ActiveGender: MaleSpecies: Dog - ???Occupation: House PetMental Status: CriticalCurrent Inventory: Collar and Tag-Cheery-Well mannered-Aspires to be like the Dogs in the K-9 unit-Clumsy-Panics in stressful situations-Self conscious about appearance-In tight situations, will become enraged.

-------------------------------Karma Status: NormalGood Karma Count: 0-------------------------------(These files will change frequently as you guys play the game.)

How to play:As the story goes on, you will all have to collectively put your input on what should be done in the form of a message. Most decisions will be decided based on a majority vote, other times you will be presented with a "free roam" prompt where you can just request specific things to do while on a certain scene. This is the list of things you can request:-Action: A request to do something ranging from picking up an item to doing a flip!-Talk: Talk to a character-Inspect: Look around your environment or at something specific. This can be very important in certain situations, but a waste of time in others-Listen: Check for any sounds. This can come in handy in dangerous situations-Use Item: Use or inspect something in your inventory-Change Character: On rare occasions, you may change which character you are controlling. Be careful who you control though, as you can't determine another character's actions unless you actually control them. Note: You can only control main characters-Hint: You may ask to have a hint if you have no idea what to do. This is most effective during free roam scenes, but if I find the scene too linear, obvious, or important that you are the one who decides, it'll probably be as simple as "Act fast" or "Think carefully"

WARNING:The only way to get a "game over" is if all characters become in-active. This means that if a character goes "missing", or becomes "in-active", THEY ARE GONE. Depending on the scenario and how you've played the game, another character may notice that said character has gone missing, and can go on a "redemption mission" to go look for them. However, you may not want to do these for personal reasons or because you feel it's not safe, as these missions are VERY RISKY.If you see an exclamation mark in the corner of a scene, it can mean a 1-4 level of danger. This doesn't always mean danger to a character though, it can also mean you are in danger or losing evidence or failing a scene, therefore hurting your chance of solving a mystery or even your ability to progress in the game.

-A white exclamation mark is level 1 of danger, something important is happening or a character could be hurt. The scene may also escalate to a:-Yellow warning, level 2 danger. You are in danger of getting hurt or losing evidence, which may then escalate to an:-Orange warning, level 3 danger. A situation has gotten much worse and you may lose a character or major evidence. If you do the wrong thing, you may get a:-Red warning, level 4 danger. Hope that you never have to see this, because this means that depending on your next move, you could lose a character then and there.

Disclaimer: While all that sounds scary, there's nothing terribly graphic or horrifying that will happen, this is still Housepets! after all. The story is somewhere between PG-PG13. It may discuss serious or dark topics at times, but it's still pretty cartoony for the most part. A lot of it is parody of the more serious games it's inspired by.

Chaining and KarmaChaining is a feature that allows you to string 2-3 choices in a given situation. If you feel you need to do or say more than one thing, you can coordinate people to select multiple actions in a specific order. If not enough people agree to do your specific chain, the chain will not work. Much like regular voting, it's a majority rule, so you have to work together to get done. 3 chains are riskier than 2 chains, as it's a bit harder for people to agree on your exact chainHowever, when you either chain too much, or begin to make incorrect chains (like ones that don't make sense or everyone susbmits a different chain), you will receive minor penalties throughout the game. The way I measure this is through something called "Karma". Karma is expressed in game through pink text, and will warn you when you are accumulating said karma. Depending on how much karma you have accumulated, a character will randomly slip up at any given scene. The more Karma, the higher chance of it happening at riskier scenes. You can trip on a pebble while casually walking across the sidewalk, or sneeze when you are trying to sneak around an enemy.There are 3 ways to get rid of Karma:1 - Stop chaining. The Karma will eventually fade away on it's own.2 - Feel the effects of Karma. Once you're hit with Karma, it will reset to zero.3 - Make a perfect chain. Feeling lucky? If the majority of people all agree on a chain that happens to have a really good outcome (or an intentionally really bad outcome), your Karma will fade away. However, this is not something you should try to do, you will probably gain far more Karma than lose it attempting to do this. It's better to let this happen naturally then attempting to force it.There are also 3 levels of Karma:1 - Uneasy - a chance of minor, harmless penalties 2 - Unlucky - a chance of minor penalties that make you look like an idiot, or make you forget non-crucial things3 - Jinxed - a chance of minor penalties at the worst timesThere will also be scenes where I don't allow you to chain at all for plot reasons. But keep in mind that just because I allow you to chain in a scene, it doesn't always mean you should. I recommend you try to coordinate your chains before you do them, if you even do them. If everyone has different chains, calculating the votes as to what to do can be a bit complicated as I have to add together every time an option is listed. If the chains are too confusing for a given scene, I'll try to just ignore them and go with the most selected choice instead to save you from stacking up on Karma instantly.You can also accumulate "Good Karma" by not chaining while at zero Karma, getting through combat scenes mostly successfully or intentionally poorly, or by doing specific actions. Good Karma grants you one free chain regardless of it's outcome. You can also use it to remove any Karma you may have accumulated instead.

------------------------------------Now that that's all said and done, we will begin this game whenever you guys are ready, just say the word! If you have any questions before we start, feel free to ask. I'm curious to see which path you all take this story, or if you manage to create a path I didn't predict would happen.

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Last edited by CHAOKOCartoons on Mon Mar 19, 2018 2:20 am, edited 34 times in total.

Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:33 pmPosts: 1605Images: 13Location: On this 3 dimensional shape we call "The place we happen to exist I guess?"

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

D-Rock Wrote:

...interesting, really. This could very quickly become cluttered, though. Maybe when a "chapter" is done, the story thus far can be compiled into an easy to read entry.

I agree. I plan on making a separate category in the "Fan Projects" topic that is pretty much that. Once I get my laptop back, I'll also make the case files more stylized and look cleaner, and even make a blog/site dedicated to telling the events of the game like the separate topic. This would also make looking over character files and managing inventory much easier as they can all be in separate places and you wouldn't have to keep checking the first post of this topic.

Speaking of my laptop being gone, that means that I'm doing all the art with my phone until I can get a new laptop, so the art won't quite be to the level of "Housepets! Fanimated!" standard just yet

Naro Rivers Wrote:

Dibs on Echo! Where are Alfa and Delta?

Maybe you'll find out later in the story, or not! Who knows what could happen! ... well, ME, but you might still somehow change the story in a way I didn't predict

SuperStar Wrote:

Action: I'm ready let's start this,

And so it begins...---------------------------------------------------

Chapter 1: Trouble Maker(This first chapter will be a sort of tutorial, getting you into the swing of things and demonstrating how things work. However, don't think that just because this is a tutorial that your actions won't matter...)

On the outskirts of Babylon Gardens, there is a moderately sized white house surrounded by trees. In the distance, you can see a city, and if you travel far enough to the left of the house you can find a river running though the collection of trees. The house looks to have seen better days; It's paint has begun to chip, and the grass around the porch has clearly been left un-managed for quite some time. Still, the lights from the inside give off a sense of comfort.

On the second floor of the house, 3 young pups sit in their room. The first, with green eyes and 3 spots on the upper portion of his face, is "Echo". The second, another spotted pup with turquoise eyes and 3 spots on his cheeks, is "Charlie". The third, a tan pup with a brown muzzle and grey eyes, was "Bravo". They where told by their Mother and Father to wait in their room until dinner was ready, leaving the pups to find a way to entertain themselves. This was a bit unusual though, they'd never been made to wait upstairs just so that dinner could be made. What's so different about it this time?

Bravo: Well... this is a bit weird huh? I wonder what Mom'n Dad are making that we can't see!

Echo: Oh no, don't you go getting any funny ideas Bravo, they told us to wait up here, I don't want any of us to get in trouble...

Bravo: FIIIINE, have it your way Echo, I figured you'd be to scared to do a little snoopin' around anyway. Whad'ya wanna do while we're up here anyway?

Echo: We're always the ones pickin' what to play, I was thinking we ask Charlie what he wants! he's been quiet this whole time, surely you're thinkin' of SOMETHIN' over there little bro!

Bravo: Yeah Charlie, what do you think we should do? Maybe you're up for a little "recon mission"?

Echo: Give it a rest Bravo...

Bravo: I'm just sayin! It's your choice Charlie!

This is a "free roam" scene. Do as you please.

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Last edited by CHAOKOCartoons on Tue Aug 23, 2016 5:04 pm, edited 1 time in total.

Sun Aug 21, 2016 10:08 pm

D-Rock

Moderator

Joined: Fri Mar 15, 2013 12:25 amPosts: 5684Location: Texas

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

There's a reason I don't roleplay Not sure what to do. I see what looks like a toy lightsaber and paper bags. How about...

Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:33 pmPosts: 1605Images: 13Location: On this 3 dimensional shape we call "The place we happen to exist I guess?"

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

Oh, I seem to have forgotten an important feature: if you're completely out of ideas, you can ask for a hint. Usually it'll just be a suggestion of action, but if it's a scene that is very linear, requires quick thinking or there's a danger warning, I'll probably just leave it up to you guys. Free roam scenes are incredibly vast in directions you can take the game, so a hint or two probably wouldn't be so bad to make sure you can actually progress

This sounds interesting, but I will stick to the shadows for now and wait awhile till I get the real meaning of the game.

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Sun Aug 21, 2016 11:28 pm

Naro Rivers

Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 3:43 amPosts: 295Location: Somewhere in a river on the Miltons' estate.

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

Action: Pick up the toy lightsaber and store it in inventory.

_________________It's difficult to wear gloves with webbed fingers...

When talking about a character, I often speak in D&D terms.

I'm participating in a forum game! You can find it here:

Sun Aug 21, 2016 11:43 pm

CHAOKOCartoons

Banner Artist

Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:33 pmPosts: 1605Images: 13Location: On this 3 dimensional shape we call "The place we happen to exist I guess?"

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

I didn't expect you guys to be so down the middle on this choice, congratulations! You already did something I didn't predict you'd do, making me improvise! (I was expecting that to take a bit longer to happen honestly)

Tales Wrote:

-action: put the lightsaber away in the box...(Though it's just one opinion, I figure Charlie is a happy-go-lucky, but still well-ish mannered dog. But like I said, just my own personal thoughts)

Naro Rivers Wrote:

Action: Pick up the toy lightsaber and store it in inventory.

These actions have been noted, and will be addressed shortly.

Neowulf Wrote:

Action: Ask about the dude on the poster. (Which will probably trigger an 'as you know' scene but whatever)

Charlie thought hard about what to do. On one hand, he REALLY wanted to imaginate, but on the other hand, he was immensely curious as to what was going on downstairs... He looked to the poster on the wall. It was a K-9 unit poster Bravo had gotten on the day Dad took them to the police station to show them around. The words "WE WANT YOU!" are printed at the top and bottom of the poster, with the leader of the Babylon Gardens K-9 unit in the center pointing back at him. His name was Sergeant Ralph, he looked a lot like Bravo, (that's probably why he took such a liking to him).

The K-9 unit seemed very well behaved, strong, and from what Dad said, they where very brave. Charlie wanted to be like just like them!

But what was it that Ralph told you while you where there? What's the most important part about being a Police Dog?

1: "Being brave, do what others wont! Look for the truth, even if it gets you in trouble. Trust your gut, and you'll find the right path!"2: "Doing what you're told! If your superiors tell you to do something, it's for a good reason! Disobedience only brings more trouble!"

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Last edited by CHAOKOCartoons on Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:39 am, edited 1 time in total.

Joined: Sat Feb 13, 2016 3:43 amPosts: 295Location: Somewhere in a river on the Miltons' estate.

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

I agree with FancyHat and Neowulf.

_________________It's difficult to wear gloves with webbed fingers...

When talking about a character, I often speak in D&D terms.

I'm participating in a forum game! You can find it here:

Tue Aug 23, 2016 2:42 am

CHAOKOCartoons

Banner Artist

Joined: Wed Dec 26, 2012 12:33 pmPosts: 1605Images: 13Location: On this 3 dimensional shape we call "The place we happen to exist I guess?"

Re: Case: Housepets!-A Choose Your Own Adventure Game

Naro Rivers Wrote:

I agree with FancyHat and Neowulf.

Well gosh darn it you evened it up again right as I finished the update . Considering I already finalized the decision, we'll just keep going with it. Plus, stats wise, you'll probably be okay with the outcome.

Charlie did quite a bit of debating in his head, this was the conclusion he came to:

Echo, was Luke!

Echo: Of course! There wasn't a doubt in my mind!

Bravo was Darth Vader!

Echo: Umm... isn't that kind of a safety hazard Bravo?

Bravo: This is the role I was born to play. I want to make sure I'm fully immersed. *Breathes heavily through bag*

And I wa--DEH! was The Emperor!(The scene does not require a blue lightsaber, so you got to keep it in your inventory)

Charlie: Alright, you guys will have to come through the door when I tell you to. I'ma get the room ready in the meantime, you two just wait out there for my call!

Echo: But, I thought we weren't going to leave our room!

Bravo: Calm down, we're only going to be a good foot away from the door. There's no way they'll notice us sitting there for a minute or two!

Charlie: Just remember what I said Bravo...

Bravo: I know, I know! I'll stay right in front of the door, I'm a good dog!

Charlie: Alrighty, I'll tell you the second I'm done, make sure to keep your ears open!

(Who do you want to control for this scene?)1. Echo2. Bravo

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Last edited by CHAOKOCartoons on Sat Dec 24, 2016 5:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

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